Georgia Trend Daily – Jan. 27, 2025
Jan. 27, 2025 State Affairs
Kemp plans $5B for hurricane relief, education, infrastructure, retirement funds and more
Tammy Joyner reports that Gov. Brian Kemp wants to allocate more than $5 billion during the next 18 months to hurricane aid, school vouchers, state workers’ retirement funds, prison fortification and Georgia’s water and transportation infrastructure. Kemp was set to deliver his proposed budget priorities for amended fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 to the Joint Appropriations Committee on Thursday, but the hearing was canceled due to inclement weather.
Jan. 27, 2025 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Cobb County: Championing Prosperity
Rachel Wallenstein reports that Cobb County has enjoyed a long streak of economic development successes. But its real achievement lies in the way it sustains and builds on those achievements.
Jan. 27, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Data centers are power hogs. A new rule lets Georgia Power charge them more
Drew Kann reports, Metro Atlanta is one of the hottest destinations in the country for tech companies to build data centers, hulking warehouses filled with servers that power web services, cryptocurrency transactions and increasingly, artificial intelligence. But the facilities themselves use huge amounts of electricity, and concern has been growing that their demands could strain the grid and drive up costs for residential customers and other businesses.
Jan. 27, 2025 Construction Ready
Construction Ready’s 2025 CareerExpo Connects Thousands of Georgia Students w/Careers in Skilled Trade will be Feb. 20-21, 2025
Staff reports that the Construction Ready 2025 CareerExpo & SkillsUSA State Championships will provide hands-on learning for more than 9,000 Georgia K-12 and college students, connecting them with more than 1,500 professionals in the skilled trades. Thanks to the Georgia Peach Education Tax Credit, the 2025 CareerExpo will be FREE to all students and schools interested in attending.
Jan. 27, 2025 Athens Banner-Herald
Athens economy likely set for fast growth this year as development, UGA expand
Wayne Ford reports that Athens will likely see “faster growth” this year due to private sector development and increasing student enrollment at the University of Georgia, an economy expert recently told a gathering at the 2025 Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon. The annual meeting hosted by the UGA Terry College of Business attracted guests from the Athens area to the Classic Center for a presentation on the local economy by Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at UGA.
Jan. 27, 2025 Georgia Ports Authority
Georgia Ports welcomes Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s new Brunswick hub facility
Staff reports that Wallenius Wilhelmsen executives hosted the official opening of their newest global facility on January 21, 2025 with customers, business partners, government leaders and employees. The new facility represents a southeast U.S. hub for the Oslo-based carrier who has consolidated Southeast port calls in Brunswick.
Jan. 27, 2025 Savannah Morning News
Savannah’s Greg Parker shares his hard-earned advice: ‘I’ve gotten smarter over the years’
Joseph Schwartzburt reports that during a recent interview, Greg Parker wrote off the idea of penning a biography as “a bit self-serving.” His 50-year journey as CEO and Founder of Parker’s Kitchen did not originate from a plan he laid out many years ago.
Jan. 27, 2025 Marietta Daily Journal
Ron Newcomb Named MDJ Cobb County Citizen of the Year
Jack Lindner reports, Dr. Ron Newcomb, president emeritus of Chattahoochee Technical College, was named Cobb County Citizen of the Year by the Marietta Daily Journal during the Cobb Chamber’s annual dinner Saturday evening. In front of a crowd of 1,100, MDJ Publisher Otis Brumby III took the stage at the Cobb Galleria Centre to present Newcomb with the honor.
Jan. 27, 2025 The Brunswick News
Officials may ask voters to approve a new tax
Gordon Jackson reports that local elected officials may ask voters to consider a new 1% sales tax this year. There are already three local 1% sales taxes in the county: LOST, SPLOST and ESPLOST. The proposed fourth tax, yet unnamed, would be collected the same way as the other local option sales taxes – at the cash register.
Jan. 27, 2025 The Current
House bill proposed after child dies at daycare
Jabari Gibbs reports that proposed House Bill 118 by Brunswick State Rep. Rick Townsend is designed to prevent the human errors that led to tragedies like the one that killed 16-month-old Jamal Bryant Jr. The bill proposes to revise requirements set by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to add that such centers maintain at least one portable airway clearance device.
Jan. 27, 2025 WABE
Under communications freeze, Atlanta-based CDC updates some important health data but not others
Rob Stein reports with federal health agencies such as the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a temporary freeze on public communications, some data and publications have not been released on their normal schedule. The agency published some regular weekly updates Friday but not others.
Jan. 27, 2025 Georgia Recorder
Both sides in Georgia’s reproductive rights debate ready for fight over new state IVF laws
Jill Nolin reports that advocates on both sides of the fight over access to reproductive rights are gearing up for an expected debate this year over whether and how lawmakers should create new protections for access to in-vitro fertilization. Leadership in both Republican-controlled chambers have said they generally support putting new IVF protections in state law after a court ruling in Alabama in early 2024 jeopardized access in that state and created uncertainty nationally.
Jan. 27, 2025 Capitol Beat News
Burt Jones unveils Red Tape Rollback of 2025
Dave Williams reports that Lt. Gov. Burt Jones announced a new round of legislation Friday aimed at helping small businesses by reducing government regulation. The Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025 is a follow-up to legislation the General Assembly passed last year.
Jan. 27, 2025 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has ripple effects across Georgia
Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Adam Beam report that President Donald Trump’s spree of executive orders last week is already reshaping Georgia policy. By Sunday, Georgians were starting to see the impact firsthand.
